Floyd Mayweather Jr. has denied rumors that he will be fighting Manny Pacquiao in September of 2014, and now Pacman himself has come out to nix the rumor of the supposed superfight.
A rumor that Floyd and Manny had agreed to fight in September, with their upcoming fights basically serving as tune-ups for the big clash. This report was on a YouTube video, with an unseen anchor forwarding word he got from an anonymous source that claimed to have broken news of Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez facing Mayweather before those fights were announced.
The anchor's source said the fight was "a done deal," and anything said or done to the contrary is just "theatrics." Pacquiao is scoffing at that report. "If it was already a done deal, is it possible for me not to know about it? I know nothing about the reports in the newspapers. I have no plan to go to the U.S. to talk to Floyd; that's also not true...I have been saying this over and over again, I am not afraid to fight anybody," said Pacquiao.
The major sticking point now is not drug testing, or money-it is that Mayweather refuses to work with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who has Pacman under contract. "Floyd has also been saying he will only fight me if I separate from Top Rank and Bob Arum," said Pacquiao. "That's impossible because my contract is valid until the end of this year. If my contract is not renewed, we can only talk about a possible fight next year."
Instead of Mayweather, Ruslan Provodnikov, "The Siberian Rocky," has been rumored as a potential opponent. He was previously not considered because he and Pacquiao share Freddie Roach as a trainer, but Ruslan has changed his mind.
Provodnikov now says he'd be willing to find another trainer and fight Pacquiao, because the money offered would be too great, and he can't see himself turning away the opportunity to fight a legend. Even Roach, who has a close relationship with both men, said he'd understand if he took the bout.
"I put myself in Ruslan's shoes: If he's offered 10 million dollars to fight Manny Pacquiao, can you really say no?" asked Roach. "It could set him for the rest of his life and his family would be financially secure. It's something fighters have to worry about."
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